When Harry King from Greenville, South Carolina, was in his 60’s a doctor diagnosed him with arthritis in his knees and told him to limit walking. He was advised to only swim or exercise in the water to reduce his swelling and soothe achy joints. King did as the doctor advised, but the lack of activity caused him to gain weight and feel worse overall. King decided to find other ways to move his body, and began exercising regularly on the stationary bike and lifting weights.
Soon his results paid off and he was once again able to hike long distances.
Today, at age 82, this former senior vice president of sales and marketing for an insurance company, is now a certified personal trainer at Planet Fitness in Greenville.
“My purpose in life that I identified a long time ago was to help others get better,” says King.
King conducts one-on-one sessions with clients and teaches strength-training classes.
“I work with a lot of people 50 and above to train them so they reduce the number of falls they have, and work on balance and strength in all areas of the body,” he says.
King is a testament to the power of lifting weights, which improved his bone density and strengthened his arthritic knees. After defying his diagnosis, he now sticks to a regular workout routine that keeps him walking his dog, kayaking, and hiking as much as he wants—in addition to all of the classes he teaches and clients he works with.
His enjoys weight training five days a week, focusing on a different muscle group each day. For example, one day he will focus on upper-body strength and another day he will do lower-body lifting. He also enjoys cardio exercise and never forgets to strengthen his core.
The number one tip he has for elderly people who want to add exercise into their daily routine is to ask for help.
“I would advise them to work with a trainer to make sure that their technique is right, to be aware of the different exercises you can do to work with different muscle groups you want to work out, how to balance work between the muscle groups,” he says. “A lot of people come in and never have worked out and we’re available as trainers to help introduce them and show the proper technique so they can get more out of their workouts with less chance of injury.”
King enjoys touting the virtues of weight lifting and exercise that has helped him accomplish daily tasks with ease.
“I have to cut the grass; I cut about two acres during the summer,” he says. “Being in shape certainly helps me in doing those kinds of things, just daily activity.”
King says that it’s never too late to incorporate fitness into your life to make life more enjoyable.
“We can just do stuff … like walking in the mall,” he says. “We can make our life experience that much better … There’s no reason for an older population to have to slow down a little bit. There’s no reason we can’t be active.”
Source:
‘No reason to slow down.’ 81-year-old trainer shares top tip for staying active as you age
